


Picking Up The Pieces

by rthstewart



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Crack, Background Relationships, Fix-It of Sorts, Multi, Post-Canon, because there's always been a Mara Jade sized hole in the sequel trilogy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:41:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22412650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rthstewart/pseuds/rthstewart
Summary: "Being a Jedi Master must count for something besides the ability to lift really big rocks."Mara Jade (surely something she said at some point in the Expanded Universe)
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn/Rey
Comments: 30
Kudos: 95





	Picking Up The Pieces

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Syrena_of_the_lake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syrena_of_the_lake/gifts).



"Rey?"

She jerked awake at the sound of Finn's voice and hoped she hadn't drooled on his shoulder. Finn didn't mind but the jacket he was wearing that the three of them shared had been through a lot and didn't need her additional spit.

Poe stirred on Finn's other side. The three of them had been leaning against a tree trunk, trying to catch up on everything and had fallen asleep in a tangle. The celebrations and grieving going on around them had provided just the right amount of background noise to nod off.

"Do you know who that is, with Lando and Chewie? By the X-Wing?"

"That's Captain Wedge Antilles," Poe mumbled. "Lando picked him up. He was manning the gun on the _Falcon_. He was my flight instructor – best pilot of the Rebellion."

"Not him," Finn countered in a tone that anyone but the three of them would have thought was annoyed. Or maybe it was annoyed. "The woman."

Rey yawned, realizing that she must have known she was safe to have given in so completely to her bone-wearying exhaustion. It had only been a few hours and she'd been sitting on the ground and snuggled next to Finn and Poe, but she'd not slept so well in months, maybe even since they'd blasted out of Nimma Outpost over a year ago.

She blinked and focused on who Finn was staring at, feeling a nagging concern that anyone was paying too much attention to Master Skywalker's X-Wing. Poe had treated the ancient craft with awed reverence and she'd have words – and more – with anyone who tinkered with it. Night came swiftly in the Kosslands but Rey didn't need her eyes to see in the fading light.

"There's something about her," Finn said. "She seems familiar, or something."

The female, she was human, wasn't young, in her fifties, maybe a little older, probably another veteran from the Rebellion. She was slight and wearing an ordinary, practical flightsuit. Feeling lazy and still waking up, Rey reached out in the Force to get a better sense of her. A very strong, highly trained presence snapped right back at her.

In the Force, the woman felt as rich and as controlled as Master Organa and almost as strong as Master Skywalker.

Rey scrambled to her feet; Finn toppled over and Poe landed on top in a floundering, grappling heap on the ground.

"Hey!" Poe grumbled, and then complained more loudly as Finn squirmed out from beneath him.

"Sorry," she tossed over her shoulder. The Force was pushing her forward, in a hurry.

"I was just going to wake you up, Rey," Lando said. "There's someone you should meet."

The woman put out her hand and, as Rey took it, the Force flowed between them, strong and pure. It wasn't anything like what she'd felt before, with the Force working so easily and confidently in someone. Glancing down, she sucked in a startled breath, taking in the lightsaber handle dangling from the woman's belt.

"Hello, Rey. I'm Mara Jade."

* * *

Rey didn't know who Mara Jade was, but everyone above a certain age did. And Mara knew them. Artoo and Threepio made a point of greeting her. Maz came over, and Zorri, and lots of others. Mara, Chewie, Lando, and Wedge obviously knew each other well and it sounded like Mara had helped them find the ships to join their last assault on Exegol and had piloted her own modified cruiser.

And Mara was wearing a lightsaber and was obviously a whole lot more than a pilot that some of the best pilots in the galaxy respected. But, with all the chatting and reminiscing, Rey was getting no closer to finding out what was the low down on Mara. She was seething with impatience when Mara finally cut off everybody. "Lando, do you mind if Rey and I go aboard the _Falcon_?"

Lando gestured toward the ship. "I was just going to suggest it. Stay as long as you like."

Rey appreciated it but the presumption bothered her. The _Falcon_ wasn't Mara's or Lando's and it wasn't up to either of them to decide who could use it. Though, it was actually a good question? Who did own the freighter? Rey knew the rules of salvage – or, at least everything she needed to know on Jakku to hold on to what she'd scavenged – but she wasn't sure how that would work when there might be competing claims. Had the _Falcon_ gone from Han to Leia? Or Chewie?

"Thanks, Lando," Mara said. "Why don't we plan to…"

"Drink later," Wedge said and Rey could feel the grief rolling off of him.

"Missing flyer formation," Mara said softly, as Lando put an arm about Wedge's shoulder. Artoo whistled mournfully. "Rey and I won't be too long. I've got a case of Corellia's finest on the _Shadow_ we can break into. I expect at least three 'I can't believe Skywalker did _that_?' stories I've not heard before."

"Which one?" Lando said. "Luke or Leia?"

"Either! They both had defective survival mechanisms," Mara replied.

"Did you ever hear about how Leia weaponized the Wampas on Hoth?" Wedge started.

Mara held up a hand. "Wait. I want to hear that one, and know I'll need a drink for it."

Lando, Wedge and Chewie all laughed.

She jerked her head in the _Falcon's_ direction. "Let's go."

As they crossed the landing area, Rey gave the X-Wing a quick once-over. It didn't look like anyone had been tinkering with it. She had to jog to keep up with Mara and followed her up the _Falcon's_ ramp.

"Are you…" Rey stuttered to a stop. The ship looked far cleaner and more ordered than when she, Poe, and Finn had been living in it. Lando had definitely spiffed her up while he and Chewie had been flying around and rounding up their reinforcements.

Mara was standing in the main cabin, looking about. "It's so good to see her again." Rey felt a surge of fond memory.

" _A lot_ of love has been made on this ship."

 _Wait. What? Did Mara…_ The statement was so unexpected, Rey felt her face heat up. She tried to tamp down her embarrassment as Mara could undoubtedly sense it; Mara's laugh confirmed she'd not been able to hide anything.

"Don't be," Mara replied, even though Rey hadn't said anything. "It's all good. And especially for a Jedi. None of that 'no-passion-no-attachment-only-the-Force' nonsense."

Rey had no idea what Mara meant by that. What did being a Jedi have to do with what was between her and Poe and Finn? "I don't know what you mean."

"Good. Those are lessons you're better off never learning."

Mara put her hand on a terminal in the cabin. "It's good to see you again, L3." She spoke affectionately, as if seeing an old friend.

"Who's that?"

"L3-37 is part of the _Falcon's_ computer systems. She was once a piloting and navigational droid. Every time you managed to get from one place to another really fast, you were able to because she was charting the course."

Rey had noticed the _Falcon's_ systems, and especially nav, were temperamental and definitely behaved differently depending on who was in the cockpit. The ship always seemed sluggish when Poe was piloting. She was still amazed he had managed to hyperspace skip and not end up embedded in an asteroid. Maybe L3 hadn't wanted to die, either. "Do you mean like the Kessel Run the ship is famous for?"

"Exactly that." Rey sensed a twinge of sadness in the Force. "Ask Chewbacca about it sometime. But not with Lando around. It still upsets him and it's been over forty years."

"Why would that upset Lando?"

"This ship was his, first, before Solo got her. L3-37 was Lando's co-pilot; they were very close. She'd been in the _Falcon's_ system for years by the time I showed up. But I spent a lot of time here, for a time, and we got to know each other."

Mara sat at the holochess table and ran her hands over the surface. "You won a game, yet?"

Rey shook her head. "Poe thinks Chewbacca cheats."

"Definitely. And Artoo cheats even better than he does. Never bet against either of them."

Mara leaned back and rested her arms on top of the bench's back. It was a little off-putting. She was acting very comfortable, like she'd been on the _Falcon_ for years and had never left. Mara surely was getting far more in the Force than she was able to but Mara's shielding was very firm and it was hard to get much of a read on her at all. That kind of control made her jealous and Rey wondered where Mara had learned it and how long it had taken. Master Organa hadn't had enough time to teach her the finer skills the texts described and she sensed that Mara was a very different sort of Force user than her Masters had been, though she wasn't sure why.

Rey eased into the seat across from Mara with the table between them. "Are you a Jedi?"

"All this time, and you'd think I would have a ready answer to that question." The pause lengthened until it was almost a stall. "It depends," Mara finally said. "If you think a Jedi is a hermetic monk who doesn't leave a forwarding address and spends years meditating in thorn bushes on a barren hillside on a deserted island unrecorded on any star chart and thinking big thoughts and lifting even bigger rocks, then no, I'm not a Jedi. If you mean someone who was trained in the Jedi disciplines, lives in and engages with the world, looks to find the Force in all living things, and allows it to guide her actions, then yes."

"So more like Master Organa than Master Skywalker?"

"Yes," Mara replied. "More like Leia, though she had her own way of doing things. Leia was the Master you needed her to be when you needed it but teaching was never a gift she had time to cultivate." Her small smile was sadly wistful. "And what was appropriate for a Jedi and what it meant to be a Jedi were two of the many things Luke and I disagreed on. "

She bristled at little at the criticisms. "You're a Master?"

"I am, but if you call me 'Master Jade,' I'll hit you."

Rey laughed. Mara might be a Master but she was old, too. She'd managed against and with Ben; she could handle Mara. "I'd just duck."

"Yes, but at this point in your training, I'd still land the punch. You shouldn't expect to be able to beat me at much of anything until you've worked at it longer."

It was obnoxious but coming from Mara, it sounded more like a promise, not a boast. That she _could_ , and _would_ , get even better. _Was she offering?_ "Luke trained you?"

"Yes."

Rey heard a faint whisper – was it coming from someone within her? She felt a nudge and knew that if she did not press Mara on it, the moment would pass. "What else about your training?"

"Very well done, Rey." Mara's approval was so unexpected and it felt really great. Rey liked hearing it.

"You were able to listen and sensed I was omitting something important. I was leaving out that Emperor Palpatine was my first Master, for many years, right up until Vader killed him."

She stared, shocked. Palpatine, _her grandfather_ , had trained _a Jedi? Mara? And…_

"Darth Vader didn't kill Palpatine," Rey countered, wanting to defend what she and Ben managed together, and his sacrifice. "Palpatine was still alive on Exegol. Ben and I killed him."

Mara pursed her lips and tapped her finger on the holotable.

"You don't believe me?!" That took some nerve. Mara, a fully trained Jedi, hadn't come to help them. Only Ben had been there. Mara had no right to doubt what happened and it made her angry that she was.

"I didn't say that at all, Rey," Mara replied so calmly that Rey felt her anger slip away as quickly as it had risen. "I do not doubt your effort and accomplishment at all. There _was_ a massive burst of Dark Side energy on Exegol and you killed something, to be sure. And all of us flying above you in the combined fleet would have died, if you hadn't." Mara let out a thoughtful breath and Rey could now sense something deep and grave.

_I'm talking to the Jedi Master now._

"I've been doubting it was the Emperor Palpatine ever since that first broadcast. We were deeply connected in the Force. Feeling his death nearly killed me. It _should_ have killed me. If the man I'd served had been alive, I would have known it and he would have never let me live or train to be a Jedi."

How could Mara sound so sure of it? _It's the Force._ _The Force gives her this confidence. She really trusts it._

"I don't know if that makes me angry at you for saying that, or worried."

"Take relieved. Again, Rey, I'm not, in any way, diminishing or discounting what you did – we would have all gone down with our ships if you hadn't been able to stop whatever that blast was. But Palpatine couldn't have done what happened over Exegol even at the height of his powers – otherwise he would have."

Mara looked thoughtful and, again, Rey had the sense of her perceiving so much more than she herself could and without revealing much of anything.

_So, what Mara was sensing?_

_Oh._

_Mara knows._

Rey looked down and twisted her hands in her lap.

When she spoke again, it was so gentle, Rey felt her eyes prick with tears. "It's so ironic. I wished for years that I was his grandchild. My fondest daydream was that there was some bond between us other than Master and Apprentice. And now, well, I'm sorry. I'm sure it was a shock for you to learn of it, and especially the way that you did."

Shame, and anger, welled up within her. "I wish Leia had told me," she bit out. "Or Luke, when I first trained with him."

"That's an additional irony, actually. Luke once asked his Master that same question, why didn't you tell me that Darth Vader was my father when I was training with you. Instead, his Master kept it from him and Luke learned it from Vader. His Master said it was because he wasn't ready for the burden."

Rey caught a rare sliver of emotion from Mara – disapproval – and it made her feel better to know that Mara could feel angry, too. And it was showing her that a Jedi could be angry. The texts talked a lot about how anger was a path to hate, suffering, and the Dark Side.

"I've never accepted that explanation," Mara said, sounding very firm. "I think Master Yoda and Obi-Wan were trying to train Luke to be their weapon to kill Vader and they didn't want the truth to get in the way of him committing patricide."

She'd never learned the whole story and now understood why. "That's _awful_!"

"And just _typical_ for a Jedi of the old order to do. They were _so_ arrogant."

Even though she was upset they hadn't told her, Rey was getting annoyed because it seemed Mara was criticizing Leia and Luke. She got even more annoyed when Mara smiled.

"So now you're defending how they kept you ignorant?"

"Well, no! But…" Rey trailed off, feeling confused, not sure what she was supposed to say, and really irritated that Mara was reading her so easily and that all the ones inside her weren't helping at all.

"Luke's greatest gift was his compassion. It's what brought Anakin back, and fortunately, Luke's Masters didn't manage to train it out of him. He and Leia both knew the old Jedi way was deeply flawed. We were well on our way to remaking it, and would have succeeded, I think, but then they lost Ben." Mara reached across the table and touched her arm gently. "Luke and Leia weren't keeping you ignorant so they could turn you into their personal weapon to settle old scores. Leia did intend to tell you. But then you kept running after Ben."

"I didn't 'run after Ben,' any more than Luke ran after his father," Rey snapped.

"Did I suggest otherwise?"

 _Oh._ The anger again went out of her with a huff.

"Rey, I do want you to keep in mind, and I know this better than anyone, that Sith are liars to their core."

"Ben didn't lie to me!" Rey bit out. They'd been too close for that, at the end.

"Not Ben, no. But Kylo Ren? Certainly. He and his ilk are masters of deception. Even with a gene scan, I'd never trust a thing a Dark Force user said, about your parentage, or anything else."

A sliver of wild hope rose within her. "You mean, I might not be a Palpatine?"

Mara took Rey's own hands in her own. "Leia began to suspect it once she started training you, but wanted to know more before she discussed it with you. She asked me to look into it. I did, for months. I didn't find anything."

She paused and Rey had the sense that Mara was pulling in on herself even further. Mara didn't what to talk about this. _Keep pushing_ , came from within her and it felt like Luke. He wanted his former student to say something.

"And?" she prompted.

Mara's eyes narrowed. "Cut it out, Farm Boy. Isn't it enough you're in my dreams, too?"

Rey pushed again, pleased that she'd heard the prompting and could get Mara to defend herself. "What don't you want to say?"

" _Jedi_." Mara made it sound like a swear word. " _Fine!_ " She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Just remember, Rey, that it's really hard to run from self-knowledge when you're around Jedi. You never get a moment's peace."

_She's stalling. Don't let her put you off._

Luke's voice was so strong within her, she was surprised Mara didn't hear it.

Or maybe she had. Mara's glare was frightening.

"And?"

"What Luke wants me to say is that this was harder for me to do than it should have been, even after all this time and Luke wants me to own up to it. I was closer to Palpatine than anyone could be, I believed I knew his every thought and command. But, as I just told you, and as I had to remind myself, all Sith are liars. If Palpatine had a son, he managed to keep it a secret even from me."

"So I could be," Rey replied, feeling miserable again.

"Only the Force will be able to tell you that and it might take you a very long time to understand the answer it gives." Mara squeezed her hands. "I'm not going to leave you to deal with this alone, Rey. Leia didn't think she'd be gone so soon, but she knew I'd help you with this if she couldn't. And she would say that only you can choose your path; not your parents or grandparents or your bloodline."

Rey pulled her hands back and rubbed her cheek on her shoulder. She wasn't crying, not yet. "I'd always wanted my family back. I never thought they might be…" she couldn't quite say it. " _This_."

"Blood families are not the only place where we find belonging. You are building a family right here." Mara gestured about the ship. "Don't wait to tell Finn and Poe. This isn't something you keep from loved ones."

"There hasn't been time. I will."

Maybe tonight even, if they could stay awake … _afterwards_. Rey felt herself blushing again and Mara's sly smile didn't help.

"Maybe in the morning."

Mara leaned back against the seat again, letting her hands linger again over the holo chess table. "I was wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind showing me Luke's lightsaber? It's been a really long time. I'd like to see it again."

"Sure."

Rey unclipped the heavy blade from her belt and set it on the table between them. Mara gently touched the handle and pushed it back and forth. She felt another surge of fondness.

_And recognition?_

Was it from Mara? Or from someone or someones within her? Both?

"It knows you!"

Mara nodded.

"I carried it. For a time. Luke gave it to me. I always liked the irony of bearing something Darth Vader wasn't worthy of."

"Ben used it. It came to him. On Exegol. Against the Knights. And Palpatine. It meant a lot to him to be able use something his grandfather and uncle had also carried." Rey hesitated, not wanting to know the answer but also feeling like she should make the offer. Mara was a Jedi Master. "Shouldn't you take it back?"

"I have my own, Rey. Lightsabers aren't heirlooms to be passed down, generation to generation. Ultimately, they belong to the Jedi who built them."

Her spirit sank. "I have Master Organa's, too. Should I not be carrying them?"

"Should?" Mara repeated. " _Should?_ "

The second time, she sounded as harsh as acid.

Mara shook her head. "I understand why you feel so uncertain, Rey. You've been in combat, you've had some terrible shocks, you lost your Master, for a second time. But there are very few things a Jedi _should_ do, or _must_ do, despite what those books say. I mean, they say you aren't supposed to steal, right?"

"So I don't have to?"

Mara looked around and shrugged palms upward. "Who's going to make you? Listen to the Force. What is it telling you? And you're also a pilot and a mechanic. What do they all tell you?"

Rey picked up the handle and weighed it in her hands. She ran her fingers along the edges and the switches, felt the crystals humming within. It was beautiful. It was old. It wasn't…

"I can build something better."

She heard someone mutter sarcastically within her and wondered if it was Anakin taking offense.

"Better for me, I mean."

Mara nodded. "And that's usually the way of it. Eventually, you want something you made with your own hands and your own skill. I can show you how. We can work together, if you like."

"I'd like that." Maybe she could use her staff for parts of it. Or something she'd salvaged from somewhere. So that it was really hers. 

"Also, Rey, there's something I'd like us to do together, if you're willing."

"Sure. What do you need?"

"I'm taking a team to Exegol in a few days to investigate just what was going on there. I'm concerned that a Dark Side user was able to manipulate technology in ways we've not seen before. Having another Jedi would be really helpful. We need to figure out what happened and make sure we have control of it. We also need to know who paid for that fleet and where all those crews came from. I could use a salvage expert."

"I could do that!" She'd seen a lot of high value pieces and components on the Death Star wreck. She'd even thought about going back once things settled down. Exegol would be even better. "I'm really good at scavenging."

"So I've heard."

"What's my cut?"

"Cut?"

"My share. My portion."

"Ah, of course, your commission." She could tell Mara was making fun of her a bit, but the thought _of all those wrecks_ on Exegol was really exciting. They should go as soon as possible. Otherwise, others might get the good stuff before she could. She'd need to get a bigger freighter. She could _buy_ a bigger freighter once they were done.

"We'll have to come to some terms, Rey. The, well, I suppose we're not Resistance anymore. I guess we might be the beginning of a legitimate government. I expect any payment might be a long time coming."

"Oh, we could easily cover costs with plenty left over. That kind of salvage will draw top value, hard currency too. Buyers will be lining up."

Mara looked at her narrowly and her lips pressed into a disapproving frown. "I may regret this. I get final say in what goes on the market and what gets destroyed or saved for the forming government."

"Well, sure, but if we go to the trouble of salvaging it, anyone who wants it should pay us. Including the government."

Mara laughed. "Never give away what you can get paid for." She rose from her seat and cocked her head to the side. "Finn's coming. He must have heard of my reputation and is worried I'll hurt you."

Rey concentrated and could now feel him in the Force walking towards the _Falcon_ ; Finn was by far the easiest for her to identify of anyone else she'd met or known.

"He should come, too," Mara said. "To Exegol."

She blinked and came back to herself. "Sure. We can ask."

"It would be useful for both of you. You can see how I train him so then you can start learning how to teach."

"Train what?"

Mara closed her eyes and Rey could feel an almost physical push in the Force, directed outside. At Finn?

At the same moment, Finn shouted, "Oww! What was that? Rey?"

_Wait._

_What?_

**_FINN?_ **

"I'm in here!" she cried and jumped to her feet. "Mara? Is Finn…"

"Rey, you're sleeping together and didn't know?" Mara rolled her eyes. "Stang, what _did_ they teach you?" She waved her hand. "Never mind. First thing tomorrow, I'm teaching you both shielding. Otherwise, flying with the three of you will make me long for an airlock and the vacuum of space."

Finn came into the cabin rubbing the back of his neck. "Something hit me. Did you do that, Rey?"

"That was me." Mara brushed passed him. "Hi, Finn, I'm Mara Jade. You should believe everything Calrissian, Antilles, and especially Artoo said about me. Rey has some things to tell you." She ducked out of the cabin and headed down the ramp.

Rey went up to Finn and looped her arm in one of his. "I know what you've been trying to tell me." Outside, she could hear Poe making the same "Ow!" noise Finn had made. Mara must have pinched him, too.

"Rey? Finn?"

"In here, Poe!" Finn called.

"I know what you were going to say," Rey repeated and took a deep breath. "And I've got some things I need to tell you."

"What? What are you going to tell Finn?" Poe said coming up the ramp. "What? Can you tell me? Is it a secret? Is it about what Finn was trying to tell you?"

Rey stretched her hand to draw Poe closer. "It's for you _both_."


End file.
